Thursday, June 16, 2011

Hot wisps that burn and poof

Reading Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, the foreword by Chris Anderson, chief editor of Wired magazine, writes in the foreword of the Ken Denmead book, that he started the GeekDad blog, part of a family of 8 or so blogs on the Wired website.  He did so because of two things:
  1. he loves science, technology and anything that comes from Japan
  2. he has five kids and "just could not bear the thought of playing Candyland one more time"


The force with which such a feeling came back to me reminded me of yesterday.  We had our rugs cleaned.  The two men are speedy and very effective but they pretty well take up the entire house, dampening all the rugs and blocking all the rest of the space with moved furniture and their equipment.  I was tired and bored and I wanted my house back.  

I try to be a good student of Zen and calm.  I try to follow the Hebrew advice of not worshipping false gods, such as some heavenly idea of getting what I think I want.  I try to follow the Greek advice of living with moderation.  But my American adolescent self and my inner infant sometimes WANT what they want and they want it NOW!  I can recognize my inner teen and my inner baby when they appear and I know who and what they are.  The three of us tried to have a calm and friendly time together for the 30 minutes or so it took the rug guys to finish and leave.  Then, poof!  The whole world was right again: sweet and fun and smooth and delicious.  

The ludicrous gap between my tortured feeling and the instant return of delight and right puts me in mind of the hours that we all put in as spouses, parents, searchers for gifts and cards, looking for misplaced keys or Kindles.  Those types of patience-testing times can burn like hot steam and as suddenly, dissipate into the air.

--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety

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